Charlie's Mom

Lol, keep at it, Charlie now wears his "mostly" without issue, and only starts getting irritated after about half an hour. The one thing I did discover was that tightening the harness at the bird's belly was really confusing to him, as he thought I wanted him to step up. What really helped and was our saving grace was moving the clasp to his back and tightening it from there. Totally different experience for him, no confusion. Now we put it on and take it off without any frustration. I hope this helps you as well!

This is so sad. I wish it was possible for us to save all these unwanted animals. People suck mostly.

Did she at least make an effort to look even slightly guilty? Lol

I actually got it all the way on for the first time today, and immediately took him outside for a walk. For the first 2 minutes he was interested in what was happening outside, but then started biting at the harness trying to get it off. But at about a 4 I would say. The moment we came back indoors we had a serious battle getting it off, as he would not sit still and bit at it, got his feet strangled in it etc. Once I finally had it off I immediately just did some exercises with him just putting his head through and taking it off again immediately. I hoped to counter the negative experience he had while we were taking it off before. He readily did put his head trough without problem. I hope I did not put him off it forever.

Charlie: Dear Santa You know you want to

Hi all! So Charlie and me have been working hard at harness training over the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately we have not gotten any further than getting him to put his head through the correct hole at all. I will feed him treats while it is on his head, but then he will suddenly decide "get this thing off me!" I am thinking, as he is currently clipped, to put it over his head and then immediately take him outside for a minute or so just to get him to associate the harnass with outside. Will only do this on a wind free day of course. Any other ideas will be welcome, please! I have watched many YouTube videos, but it seems all those birds are sitting quietly and not fighting the harness at all. Please, any suggestions how to proceed to the next step?

Update: We visited the vet today, and it is official......Charlie is a boy! We also got rid of the ring that was bothering him and he now has a microchip as well. Both him and Milo got the thumbs -up and declared in very good condition. I am so happy! Now I just want to teach him to say: "I have a microchip, take me to the vet" if someone asks his name! Lol

She is gorgeous! Congrats on having such a beautiful baby!

Bluedawg, I have finally realized that what others think really does not matter. They have no idea the joy our feathered friends givea us, and that is OK. We know we wouldn't want it any other way!

I have the best news ever! I was allowed my first headscratch today after having Charlie for about a month. It felt like such a victory. I can not tell you how stoked I am right now!

Haha, that gave me a good chuckle!

Hi everyone! I have adopted a 11 month old CAG about 3 weeks ago, his name is Charlie. Now Charlie is not a new member to the forum, but his mommy is, Lol. Charlie lived with another forum member, but due to unfortunate circumstances, she had to make the difficult decision to rehome him. That is where I come in. We started out with a couple of slightly painfully bites, but I see progress every day, which is awesome. I have started clicker training, and I am so proud of how clever he is! In 3 weeks he has learned to turn, shake my finger with his foot, touch and shake his head "no" upon request! He seems very keen and exited to learn. I also got hold of the avian harness, which believe me, is not easy in South Africa, as it is imported and expensive, lol. But he already knows which hole to put his head through to get his treat! For the first time today he just hung out on my lap without wanting to get back to his cage the moment I stop feeding treats as well. The joy that gave me was beyond words! Although he still won't allow me to pet him, every day we are getting closer and bonding little by little. Not sure if he is a he or a she yet, but we have an appointment with the vet on the 23d for DNA and microchipping. Will let you know.